JP2013067302A - Apparatus and system for controlling follow travel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a following distance with a vehicle of a following object to be sufficiently small, in ones using information obtained by vehicle-to-vehicle communications to perform follow travel control.SOLUTION: Follow travel control is performed to the following object vehicle by obtaining the information of the vehicle in the periphery by vehicle-to-vehicle communications, and using the information obtained from the following object vehicle by the vehicle-to-vehicle communications. Moreover, when the own vehicle and the following object vehicle are located in the road where a plurality of lanes of the same traveling direction exist, the follow travel control is performed to the following object vehicle located in the same traveling direction and another lane to the own vehicle while traveling in the same traveling direction and another lane with the following object vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a follow-up travel control device and a follow-up travel control system including the follow-up travel control device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for performing follow-up travel control so that the inter-vehicle distance of each vehicle matches the target inter-vehicle distance is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for performing follow-up travel control so that a plurality of vehicles travel while forming a convoy on the same lane so that the inter-vehicle distance of each vehicle in the convoy matches the target inter-vehicle distance. ing.

  Specifically, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, based on the target speed pattern of the own vehicle and the target speed pattern of the other vehicle obtained from the other vehicles in the platoon by inter-vehicle communication, A safe inter-vehicle pattern indicating the target inter-vehicle distance is set. Then, traveling control is performed so that the inter-vehicle pattern calculated from the target speed pattern of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle satisfies the safe inter-vehicle pattern. In Patent Document 1, in a platooning in which a plurality of vehicles travel while forming a platoon on the same lane, the distance between the vehicles is reduced to prevent the other cars from interrupting the platoon. It is disclosed to improve safety.

JP 2008-110620 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle to be followed (the preceding vehicle in Patent Document 1). Details are as follows. Since the preceding vehicle is traveling on the same lane as the own vehicle, it is necessary to set the target inter-vehicle distance so that the preceding vehicle does not come into contact with the preceding vehicle even if the preceding vehicle suddenly decelerates. The technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 performs traveling control using a target speed pattern of a preceding vehicle obtained by inter-vehicle communication. Therefore, the time required for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the time required to start deceleration control using the information after obtaining information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, until the vehicle behavior actually changes after the deceleration control is started The target inter-vehicle distance must be set longer by taking into account the time required. Therefore, it has been difficult to sufficiently reduce the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle to be followed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and the object of the present invention is to perform follow-up running control using information obtained by inter-vehicle communication. Another object of the present invention is to provide a follow-up travel control device and a follow-up travel control system that can be made smaller.

  The follow-up running control device according to claim 1 performs follow-up running control on the follow-up target vehicle by using information acquired by inter-vehicle communication from the follow-up target vehicle that is a vehicle that the own vehicle is a follow-up target. Also, when the vehicle and the vehicle to be followed are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, the same vehicle as the following target vehicle for the following vehicle in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the own vehicle Follow-up traveling control is performed while traveling in another lane in the traveling direction.

  According to the above configuration, the host vehicle follows the vehicle while traveling in a different lane from the vehicle to be tracked, so the front end of the vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle to be tracked are arranged side by side. There is no risk of contact with the following vehicle. Therefore, in the case of sudden deceleration, the time required for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the time required to start deceleration control using the information after obtaining information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and the actual vehicle Even if the inter-vehicle distance decreases due to a delay time such as the time until the behavior changes, there is no possibility of contact. Therefore, since it is possible to set the inter-vehicle distance without taking these delay times into account, the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the vehicle to be followed can be obtained even when the follow-up running control is performed using information obtained by inter-vehicle communication. Can be made sufficiently small.

  As in claim 2, when the own vehicle and the following target vehicle are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, frontward communication between vehicles located in the same traveling direction as the own vehicle and in a different lane is possible. Vehicle specifying means for specifying the vehicle, and selection means for selecting a tracking target vehicle from the vehicles specified by the vehicle specifying means in accordance with a user's input operation, with respect to the tracking target vehicle selected by the selection means It is good also as a mode which performs follow run control. Note that one or a plurality of vehicles may be specified by the vehicle specifying means. According to this, the following vehicle is selected from the vehicles ahead that can communicate between the vehicles located in the same traveling direction and in the same lane as the subject vehicle, and the same traveling as the following vehicle for the selected following vehicle It is possible to follow the vehicle while traveling in a direction and in another lane.

  In the case of the second aspect, as in the third aspect, the vehicle specifying means is the same as the own vehicle when the own vehicle and the following target vehicle are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction. A mode in which the vehicle in front of the vehicle in the traveling direction and in a different lane and capable of inter-vehicle communication is identified, and the selection unit selects the vehicle identified by the vehicle identification unit according to the user's input operation as the tracking target vehicle. It is good. According to this, the vehicle in the same advancing direction and in the same lane as the host vehicle and capable of inter-vehicle communication is selected as the vehicle to be followed, and the vehicle to be followed is selected as the vehicle to be followed. It is possible to follow the vehicle while traveling in the same traveling direction and in another lane.

  Further, as in claim 4, preceding vehicle discriminating means for discriminating a preceding vehicle which is a vehicle ahead in the vehicle and capable of communicating between vehicles and located on the same lane as the own vehicle, and according to a user's input operation, A selection unit that selects a vehicle that has been determined as a preceding vehicle by the vehicle determination unit as a tracking target vehicle, and a notification unit that performs notification to the user, with respect to the tracking target vehicle selected by the selection unit In addition to performing tracking control, when the vehicle and the vehicle to be tracked are located on a road where there are multiple lanes in the same traveling direction, a notification that prompts the vehicle to be positioned in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the tracked vehicle It is good also as an aspect which a means performs. According to this, the preceding vehicle located in the same lane as the own vehicle can be selected as the tracking target vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle is located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, the driver notifies the driver that the vehicle is positioned in the same traveling direction and in another lane as the selected following target vehicle. It becomes possible to travel in the same traveling direction as the following target vehicle and in a different lane. As a result, it becomes possible to follow the selected following target vehicle while traveling in the same traveling direction and another lane as the following target vehicle.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform smooth acceleration / deceleration control that does not give the driver a sense of incongruity when performing follow-up running control on the follow-up target vehicle. Details are as follows.

  It is an index that represents the approaching / separating state with respect to the preceding vehicle in consideration of the speed of the preceding vehicle, and increases as the relative speed approaching the preceding vehicle increases and increases as the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle decreases. A correction approaching / separating state evaluation index is known as an index in which an increasing gradient with respect to a change in distance becomes steeper as the inter-vehicle distance decreases. It has already been recognized by academic societies and the like that if acceleration / deceleration control is performed using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index in follow-up traveling control for the preceding vehicle, smooth acceleration / deceleration control without a sense of incongruity for the driver can be performed.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the fifth aspect, the speed of the following vehicle instead of the speed of the preceding vehicle, the relative speed of the following vehicle instead of the relative speed with the preceding vehicle, and the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Instead of the distance, the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index is calculated using the estimated inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the vehicle to be followed when the vehicle to be followed is located on the same lane as the vehicle. Therefore, by performing acceleration / deceleration control using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index in the configuration of claim 5, it is possible to perform smooth acceleration / deceleration control that is comfortable for the driver in the follow-up running control for the follow-up target vehicle. Become.

  Further, when the follow-up running control is performed using the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index as in the fifth aspect, the deceleration threshold is set when the deceleration control based on the output of the required deceleration is completed as in the sixth aspect. It is preferable that the closest inter-vehicle distance, which is an assumed inter-vehicle distance, is set to be at least 0 or more. According to this, since the deceleration threshold value is set so that the closest inter-vehicle distance is at least 0, the vehicle can be decelerated so that the estimated inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle to be followed and the own vehicle does not become less than zero. .

  Further, in the case of the sixth aspect, as in the seventh aspect, there is provided an aspect including a stopping unit that stops the following traveling control when the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes less than 0 during the following traveling control. Is preferred. According to this, the following traveling control can be stopped when the host vehicle is accelerated by the driver's accelerator operation during the following traveling control and the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes less than zero. Therefore, after the driver accelerates the host vehicle by the accelerator operation and the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes less than 0, the follow-up running control is stopped, and the deceleration due to the follow-up running control is prevented. For example, since the driver accelerates the vehicle by an accelerator operation to change the order of the vehicle to be followed and the vehicle, and the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes less than 0, the follow-up running control is not continued. It is possible to complete the change of the arrangement order without causing unnecessary deceleration due to the following traveling control.

  The following travel control system according to claim 8 includes any one of the following travel control devices mounted on a plurality of vehicles. According to the above configuration, when a plurality of vehicles, each having a follow-up travel control device, form a convoy and perform convoy travel, the following vehicles follow the preceding vehicle while traveling in separate lanes. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, even when each vehicle in the platoon performs follow-up running control using information obtained by inter-vehicle communication, the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles in the platoon can be sufficiently reduced.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a follow-up travel control system 100. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of vehicle control ECU1. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process regarding the following driving | running | working control in vehicle control ECU1. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the prior art. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example in the case of performing a follow-up run over 2 lanes. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example in the case of performing a follow-up run over 3 lanes. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to follow-up traveling control in a vehicle control ECU 1 in a first modification. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example in the case of setting a target inter-vehicle distance to be less than 0 and performing follow-up traveling over two lanes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a follow-up traveling control system 100 to which the present invention is applied. A follow-up travel control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes four follow-up travel control devices (specifically, vehicle control ECU 1) mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles (vehicles A, B, C, D). It is out.

  In addition, in FIG. 1, although the structure which contains four following driving control apparatuses in the following driving control system 100 was shown, it does not necessarily restrict to this. The following traveling control system 100 may include a number of following traveling control devices other than four mounted on each vehicle. However, for the sake of convenience, the following description will be continued on the assumption that the following traveling control system 100 includes four following traveling control devices mounted on each of the vehicles A to D.

  Here, a schematic configuration of the vehicle control ECU 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle control ECU 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle control ECU 1 exchanges electronic information with the VSC_ECU 2, the steering angle sensor 3, the G sensor 4, the yaw rate sensor 5, the ENG_ECU 6, the navigation ECU 7, the wireless communication device 8, the radar 9, the operation SW 10, and the display device 11. Connected as possible. For example, in this embodiment, the vehicle control ECU 1, VSC_ECU 2, rudder angle sensor 3, G sensor 4, yaw rate sensor 5, ENG_ECU 6, navigation ECU 7, and wireless communication device 8 are in-vehicle LANs conforming to a communication protocol such as CAN (controller area network). Are connected to each other.

  The VSC_ECU 2 controls a brake actuator (not shown) that applies a braking force to the host vehicle, and has a control function of VSC (Vehicle Stability Control (registered trademark)) that suppresses a side slip of the host vehicle. The VSC_ECU 2 receives information on the requested deceleration from the in-vehicle LAN, and controls the brake actuator so that the requested deceleration is generated in the own vehicle. Further, the VSC_ECU 2 transmits information on the speed (vehicle speed) Vo of the own vehicle and the brake pressure to the in-vehicle LAN. The steering angle sensor 3 is a sensor that detects information on the steering angle of the steering of the host vehicle, and transmits information on the detected steering angle to the in-vehicle LAN.

  The G sensor 4 is an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration (front-rear G) generated in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle and acceleration (lateral G) generated in the lateral (left-right) direction, and information on the detected front-rear G and lateral G is detected. Is transmitted to the in-vehicle LAN. The yaw rate sensor 5 is a sensor that detects an angular velocity (yaw rate) around the vertical axis of the host vehicle, and transmits information on the detected yaw rate to the in-vehicle LAN. The ENG_ECU 6 receives information on the requested acceleration from the in-vehicle LAN, and controls a throttle actuator (not shown) so that the own vehicle generates the requested acceleration. In addition, when the information on the requested deceleration is received, the engine brake is generated by controlling the throttle actuator.

  The navigation ECU 7 is a control device for the in-vehicle navigation device, and as a navigation function based on the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the position detector 71 described later and map data read from the map data input device 72 described later. The various processes are executed.

  The position detector 71 is a geomagnetic sensor that detects geomagnetism, a gyroscope that detects an angular velocity around the vertical direction of the host vehicle, a distance sensor that detects a moving distance of the host vehicle, and a current position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. Based on information obtained from each sensor such as a GPS receiver for GPS (global positioning system) for detecting the vehicle, the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle are sequentially detected. Since these sensors have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy of each sensor, the position detector 71 may be configured as a part of the above-described ones, or a sensor other than those described above may be used. For example, the current position is represented by latitude and longitude, and the traveling direction is represented by an azimuth angle with reference to north.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the GPS receiver for GPS is used as the receiver of the satellite positioning system is shown, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, it is good also as a structure which uses the receiver of satellite positioning systems other than GPS.

  The map data input device 72 is a device for inputting map data stored in a storage medium (not shown) attached thereto. The map data includes link data indicating roads and node data. The link data includes a unique number (link ID) that identifies the link, a link length that indicates the length of the link, a link direction, a link orientation, link start and end node coordinates (latitude / longitude), road name, road type, It consists of data such as traffic attributes, road width, number of lanes, presence / absence of right / left turn lanes, the number of lanes, and speed regulation values. On the other hand, the node data includes a node ID, a node coordinate, a node name, and a link ID of a link connected to the node, each node having a unique number for each node where roads on the map intersect, merge and branch. It consists of each data such as ID and intersection type.

  Note that the map data is not limited to the configuration using the storage medium stored in the map data input device 72, but the map data stored in the server device is used via a server communication unit (not shown). It is good also as composition to do.

  The wireless communication device 8 includes a transmission / reception antenna, and distributes information about the vehicle and surrounding vehicles by wireless communication with other vehicles (that is, surrounding vehicles) existing around the own vehicle position without going through the telephone network. Information (that is, vehicle-to-vehicle communication) is received. It is assumed that the communication range of inter-vehicle communication is limited to a predetermined range (preferably a radius of about several hundred m to 1 km). For example, in the case of wireless communication using 700 MHz band radio waves, vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed with other vehicles existing in a radius range of, for example, about 1 km around the position of the vehicle, and 5.9 GHz band radio waves. In the case of wireless communication using the vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed with another vehicle that exists in a range of, for example, a radius of about 500 m centered on the own vehicle position.

  The wireless communication device 8 is a vehicle such as the vehicle speed Vo obtained from the in-vehicle LAN, the current position of the own vehicle (hereinafter referred to as position information), the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the lane where the own vehicle is located. It is assumed that information is transmitted at a constant transmission cycle such as every 100 msec. In addition, it is good also as a structure which transmits several positional information from which a detection time differs as information which can specify the advancing direction of the own vehicle instead of the advancing direction of the own vehicle. In addition, the wireless communication device 8 receives vehicle information of the surrounding vehicle transmitted from the wireless communication device 8 mounted on the surrounding vehicle. The wireless communication device 8 outputs the received information to the vehicle control ECU 1.

  The radar 9 is, for example, a well-known laser radar, which irradiates a predetermined range in front of the own vehicle with laser light and receives the reflected light to receive the preceding vehicle of the own vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance D1 between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Relative speed Vr1, a deviation amount (lateral deviation amount) between the center axis of the own vehicle width and the center axis of the preceding vehicle, and the like are detected and output to the vehicle control ECU 1. The detection of the preceding vehicle of the own vehicle, the distance D1 between the preceding vehicle, the relative speed Vr1 with the preceding vehicle, the amount of deviation (lateral deviation) between the center width of the own vehicle and the center axis of the preceding vehicle, etc. It is good also as a structure performed by vehicle control ECU1. In the present embodiment, the following description will be continued assuming that the detection is performed by the vehicle control ECU 1 based on the signal of the radar 9.

  In addition, although the structure which uses the radar 9 as an obstacle sensor was shown, it does not necessarily restrict to this. As the obstacle sensor, other sensors may be used as long as they can be used to detect the distance to the other vehicle and the relative speed. For example, a millimeter wave radar or a camera can be used. For example, in the case of using cameras, the vehicle control ECU 1 detects the presence of another vehicle and the distance between the other vehicles using the stereo images of the two cameras, or detects other vehicles in the images sequentially captured. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which detects relative speed by vehicle control ECU1 based on the change of a magnitude | size.

  The operation SW 10 is a switch group operated by the driver of the own vehicle, and operation information of the switch group is output to the vehicle control ECU 1. The display device 11 displays text and images, and is provided in the passenger compartment. The display device 11 is provided so that a passenger of the own vehicle can see texts and images. For example, the display device 11 may be configured to use a head-up display (HUD), or may be configured to use a display used in an in-vehicle navigation device. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which uses the display provided in the instrument panel etc. separately from the display used for a vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus.

  The vehicle control ECU 1 is mainly configured as a microcomputer, and each includes a known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus connecting them. The vehicle control ECU 1 executes various processes based on various information input from the VSC_ECU 2, the steering angle sensor 3, the G sensor 4, the yaw rate sensor 5, the ENG_ECU 6, the navigation ECU 7, the radio communication device 8, the radar 9, and the operation SW 10. . The vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the following travel control device.

  The vehicle control ECU 1 sequentially acquires vehicle information obtained from the in-vehicle LAN, such as the speed Vo of the own vehicle, the position information of the own vehicle, the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the lane where the own vehicle is located. The vehicle control ECU 1 acquires these vehicle information at regular intervals, for example, and transmits them from the wireless communication device 8. For example, as the vehicle information, the speed Vo of the own vehicle is obtained from the VSC_ECU 2, and the position information and the traveling direction of the own vehicle may be obtained from the position detector 71 via the navigation ECU 7.

  Moreover, what is necessary is just to set it as the structure acquired as follows, for example about the lane in which the own vehicle is located. For example, when a high-accuracy satellite positioning system receiver is used, the vehicle control ECU 1 is based on the position information of the vehicle obtained from the position detector 71 and the link data input from the map data input device 72. It can be obtained by specifying the lane where the vehicle is located.

  In addition, when the vehicle control ECU 1 can estimate the lane in which the vehicle is traveling by analyzing the image of a road image captured by an imaging device (for example, a wide-angle camera) that captures the front of the vehicle, What is necessary is just to set it as the structure acquired from this estimation result. Further, the vehicle control ECU 1 identifies the lane in which the vehicle is located from the estimation result, the vehicle position information and traveling direction obtained from the position detector 71, and the link data input from the map data input device 72. It is good also as what you get by doing.

  Furthermore, when information on the lane in which the vehicle is located can be obtained from a road device such as a beacon provided on the road by a communication device (not shown), information on the lane in which the vehicle is located is obtained from the communication device. It is good.

  When transmitting vehicle information, the identification information which can specify the own vehicle is given and transmitted. As identification information, vehicle ID, apparatus ID of the radio | wireless communication apparatus 8, etc. can be used, for example. When transmitting vehicle information, for example, a time stamp indicating the time when the vehicle information is detected may be given and transmitted. As the time here, a time synchronized with the time of the atomic clock of the satellite in the satellite positioning system (for example, GPS time may be used. In the present embodiment, when transmitting vehicle information, the wireless communication device 8 is used. The following description will be continued on the assumption that the device ID and the GPS time as a time stamp are transmitted.

  Further, the vehicle control ECU 1 acquires the vehicle information of the other vehicle transmitted from the wireless communication device 8 of the other vehicle through inter-vehicle communication via the wireless communication device 8 of the own vehicle. Vehicle control ECU1 should just store the vehicle information acquired from the other vehicle in memory, such as RAM. In addition, the vehicle information that has passed for a certain period of time or more after the acquisition is erased, and among the newly acquired vehicle information, the same device ID as the device ID assigned to the already stored vehicle information is assigned. For things, overwrite the old vehicle information. In addition, among the newly acquired vehicle information, information to which a device ID different from the device ID assigned to already stored vehicle information is assigned is stored in the memory. The fixed time here is a value that can be arbitrarily set, and may be set to, for example, several seconds. As a result, only the latest vehicle information of surrounding vehicles that can regularly perform inter-vehicle communication is stored in the memory.

  The vehicle control ECU 1 performs follow-up running control using various devices connected by an in-vehicle LAN or the like. The follow-up running control is started when the driver operates the operation SW 10 to give an instruction to start the follow-up running control, and the follow-up running control is finished when the driver finishes the operation. In this embodiment, for example, in the state where the main switch of the cruise control switch as the operation SW 10 is turned on, the follow-up running control is started by turning on the control start switch of the cruise control switch, and the control end switch is turned on. The case where the follow-up running control is terminated will be described as an example. It should be noted that in the state where the main switch of the cruise control switch is turned off, it is not possible to issue a follow-up running control start instruction, and the follow-up target determination process described later is not executed.

  The follow-up running control is started after determination of a vehicle capable of inter-vehicle communication that should be a follow-up target for the own vehicle (hereinafter, follow-up target determination process) is performed. Here, the following target determination process will be described. In the tracking target determination process, the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle control ECU 1 based on the signal from the radar 9 (that is, the nearest preceding vehicle located on the same lane as the own vehicle) receives vehicle information through inter-vehicle communication. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is a vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the preceding vehicle discrimination means in the claims. This determination is based on whether the preceding vehicle detected based on the signal of the radar 9 and the vehicle that is the transmission source of the vehicle information specified from the received vehicle information are approximate in terms of speed, distance, and relative position with respect to the own vehicle. Depending on whether or not.

  For example, when speed and distance are used, in the vehicle control ECU 1, the following vehicle (that is, the nearest rear vehicle located on the same lane as the own vehicle) based on the signal of the radar 9 that also sets the rear irradiation range. And the distance information with respect to the following vehicle may be included in the vehicle information and transmitted via the wireless communication device 8. Then, the speed of the preceding vehicle and the distance from the own vehicle detected based on the signal of the radar 9 are approximate to the speed of the other vehicle included in the received vehicle information and the distance to the next succeeding vehicle. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which performs the said discrimination | determination according to whether it is doing. Specifically, in the case of approximation, it is determined that the detected preceding vehicle is a vehicle that has received vehicle information through inter-vehicle communication.

  When using the relative position, it depends on whether or not the relative position of the preceding vehicle detected based on the signal from the radar 9 is approximate to the relative position of the other vehicle from which the vehicle information is transmitted. Thus, the above-described determination may be performed. The relative position of the other vehicle from which the vehicle information is transmitted is calculated from the position information of the other vehicle included in the received vehicle information and the position information of the own vehicle detected by the position detector 71 of the own vehicle. Good. In addition, when calculating the relative position of the other vehicle, the association between the position information of the own vehicle and the position information of the other vehicle at the same point is performed using, for example, the GPS time when the position information is detected. It shall be calculated by

  Further, in the tracking target determination process, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle detected based on the signal from the radar 9 is a vehicle that has received vehicle information through inter-vehicle communication, the preceding vehicle is selected as the tracking target. A notification to the effect that it is possible (hereinafter, selectable notification) is sent to the display device 11 or a voice output device (not shown). Then, when the driver operates the operation SW 10 during the selectable notification or within a certain time after the selectable notification and selects the preceding vehicle as the tracking target, the preceding vehicle is determined as the tracking target vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to a selection unit and a notification unit in the claims.

  Further, the vehicle control ECU 1 performs different tracking control depending on whether the vehicle determined as the tracking target is located in the same lane as the own vehicle or in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the own vehicle. Below, the process regarding the following traveling control in vehicle control ECU1 is demonstrated using the flow of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to the follow-up traveling control in the vehicle control ECU 1. The flow in FIG. 3 is started when, for example, a tracking target determination process is performed. Further, the flow of FIG. 3 ends when the follow-up traveling control is ended, for example, when the control end switch of the cruise control switch is turned on.

  First, in step S1, a first target inter-vehicle distance setting process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S2. In the first target inter-vehicle distance setting process, the distance from the tracking target vehicle being detected (here, the preceding vehicle) is detected based on the signal from the radar 9, and this detected distance (that is, the initial inter-vehicle distance from the tracking target vehicle) is detected. Distance) is set as the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1.

  In step S2, a first follow-up running control process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S3. In the first follow-up travel control process, follow-up travel control is performed on the preceding vehicle (that is, the vehicle immediately ahead traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle) using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1. The first follow-up running control process is continued until the follow-up follow-up running control described later is started or the follow-up running control is finished by turning on the control end switch described above.

Here, the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1 will be described. The corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1 is obtained by correcting the approach / separation state evaluation index KdB in consideration of the speed of the preceding vehicle. The approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB and the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1 are expressed by, for example, the following formulas 1 and 2, respectively. In Formulas 1 and 2, D1 is the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle, Vr1 is the relative speed of the preceding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle, a is a multiplier, and Vp1 is the speed of the preceding vehicle.

  As shown in Equation 2, the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1 increases as the absolute value of the relative speed Vr1 approaching the preceding vehicle increases. Moreover, it becomes small, so that the speed Vp1 of a preceding vehicle is high. Moreover, it becomes larger as the inter-vehicle distance D1 becomes shorter. Further, since the inter-vehicle distance D1 is a cube term, the increasing gradient of the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1 with respect to a change in which the inter-vehicle distance D1 becomes shorter becomes steeper as the inter-vehicle distance D1 becomes shorter. It has already been recognized by academic societies and the like that when speed control is performed using the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1, speed control without a sense of incongruity for the driver can be performed. Therefore, by performing the follow-up running control for the preceding vehicle using the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1, it is possible to perform smooth acceleration / deceleration control that is comfortable for the driver in the follow-up running control for the preceding vehicle.

  The follow-up running control for the preceding vehicle using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1 may be performed in the same manner as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-99199 filed earlier by the applicant of the present application. Specifically, in the follow-up running control for the follow-up target vehicle using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c2 described later, the speed Vp1 of the preceding vehicle and the relative speed Vr2 with the follow-up vehicle are used instead of the speed Vp2 of the follow-up target vehicle. Instead, instead of the relative speed Vr1 of the preceding vehicle and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 with the vehicle to be followed, the configuration may be performed in the same manner as that using the inter-vehicle distance D1 with the preceding vehicle.

  In the follow-up running control for the preceding vehicle using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1, the stable inter-vehicle distance in Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-99199 filed earlier by the present applicant is used instead of the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1. Also good. The stable inter-vehicle distance is calculated in consideration of the inter-vehicle distance at which the collision margin time TTC is sufficiently large (for example, infinite).

  Subsequently, in step S3, a traveling road determination process is performed. In the traveling road determination process, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle and the vehicle to be followed are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction. For this determination, for example, the following vehicle position and the traveling direction of the following vehicle indicated by the positional information of the following vehicle, the own vehicle position and the traveling direction indicated by the own vehicle position information, and the map data input device 72 It is determined from the map data input from. Specifically, the number of lanes of the road on which the tracking target vehicle and the host vehicle travel are specified from the traveling direction of the tracking target vehicle and the host vehicle, the tracking target vehicle position and host vehicle position, and the link data of the map data. When the number of lanes is plural, it is determined that the own vehicle and the vehicle to be followed are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, and when it is not plural, it is determined that the vehicle is not located.

  In addition, when information on the number of lanes of the road on which the vehicle is located can be obtained from a road device such as a beacon provided on the road by a communication device (not shown), the road on which the vehicle obtained by the communication device is located The number of lanes of the road to be followed and the road on which the vehicle is traveling are identified from the information on the number of lanes of the vehicle and the information on the number of lanes of the road where the vehicle to be followed is obtained from the vehicle to be followed by inter-vehicle communication. It is good also as a structure. As for the information on the number of lanes on the road where the tracking target vehicle is located, the own vehicle shall acquire the information acquired from the road vehicle by the communication device of the tracking target vehicle and transmitted from the tracking target vehicle by inter-vehicle communication. .

  Note that the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle to be followed are obtained from the vehicle information acquired via the wireless communication device 8, and the position information and the traveling direction of the own vehicle are obtained from the position detector 71 of the own vehicle from the navigation ECU 7. Shall be obtained through. The same applies to the following.

  In the traveling road determination process, when it is determined that the subject vehicle and the vehicle to be followed are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction (that is, located on a road having a plurality of lanes) (YES in step 3). Moves to step S4. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located on a road with multiple lanes (NO in step 3), the flow returns to step S2 to repeat the flow.

  In step S4, a lane change notification process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S5. In the lane change notification process, the display device 11 or a voice output device (not shown) is urged to be positioned in the same traveling direction and in a different lane as the vehicle to be followed (here, the preceding vehicle). For example, it may be configured to display text such as “Please change lanes to the preceding lane and another lane” or an image of an arrow indicating the lane change destination. In addition, the following notification may be performed. For example, in order to make the user recognize that the follow-up driving control is performed on the vehicle immediately ahead on the same lane, such as “when the lane change is not performed, the follow-up drive is performed with respect to the preceding vehicle on the same lane”. Notification may be performed.

  In step S5, the same lane determination process is performed. In the same lane determination process, it is determined whether the vehicle to be followed and the host vehicle are located on the same lane. About this determination, it determines from the information of the lane in which the following vehicle included in the received vehicle information is located, and the information on the lane in which the own vehicle is acquired acquired by the vehicle control ECU 1 of the own vehicle. Specifically, when the lane where the tracking target vehicle is located matches the lane where the own vehicle is positioned, it is determined that the tracking target vehicle and the own vehicle are located on the same lane. It is determined that it is not on the lane.

  And in the same lane determination process, when it determines with being located on the same lane (it is YES at step S5), it moves to step S6. If it is determined that the vehicle is not on the same lane (NO in step S5), the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S6, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the lane change notification process was performed in step S4 (that is, time-out). For example, it may be configured to start counting a timer (not shown) at the time when the lane change notification process is performed in step S4, thereby measuring an elapsed time from the time and determining whether or not a timeout has occurred. The predetermined time here is a time that can be arbitrarily set.

  If it is determined that a timeout has occurred (YES in step S6), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not a timeout (NO in step S4), the process returns to step S5 and the flow is repeated.

  In step S7, a second follow-up running control process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S8. In step S7, when the first follow-up running control process has been performed, the first follow-up running control process is interrupted and the second follow-up running control process is started instead. In the second follow-up travel control process, a target inter-vehicle distance Dt2 is set and used instead of the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1. It is assumed that the target inter-vehicle distance Dt2 is, for example, a value of 0 or more, and a value (for example, 0 to several meters) smaller than the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1 and the above-mentioned stable inter-vehicle distance can be set. The target inter-vehicle distance Dt2 may be configured to use a default one, or may be configured to be set by the user via the operation SW10.

  In the second follow-up running control process, follow-up running control is performed using the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2. The second follow-up running control process is continued until the first follow-up running control is resumed or the follow-up running control is finished by turning on the control end switch described above. Here, the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c2 will be described. The corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 is obtained by correcting the approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB in consideration of the speed of a tracking target vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a tracking target vehicle) traveling in a lane different from the own vehicle.

The corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 is expressed by the following Expression 3, for example. In Equation 3, D2 is the estimated inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the tracking target vehicle, Vr2 is the relative speed of the tracking target vehicle with respect to the host vehicle, a is a multiplier, and Vp2 is the speed of the tracking target vehicle. How to determine the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 between the own vehicle and the vehicle to be followed will be described in detail later.

  As shown in Equation 3, the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 increases as the absolute value of the relative speed Vr2 approaching the tracking target vehicle increases. Moreover, it becomes small, so that the speed Vp2 of a tracking object vehicle is high. Moreover, it becomes larger as the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes shorter. Since the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 is a cube term, the increasing gradient of the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 with respect to a change in which the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes shorter becomes steeper as the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes shorter. As described above, the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 is obtained by using the evaluation index calculation formula of the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c1 in place of the speed of the preceding vehicle and the relative speed with respect to the preceding vehicle. Instead, the estimated inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is used instead of the relative speed of the following vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle.

  Therefore, by performing the follow-up running control for the follow-up target vehicle using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c2, it is possible to perform smooth acceleration / deceleration control that does not give the driver a sense of incongruity in the follow-up run control for the follow-up target vehicle. . That is, it is possible to provide an acceleration / deceleration timing and an acceleration / deceleration pre-file that are comfortable for the driver of the own vehicle with respect to the acceleration / deceleration of the following vehicle.

Next, the second following traveling control process will be described. In a memory such as a ROM of the vehicle control ECU 1, for example, three threshold expressions, a friction brake start threshold expression, an engine brake start threshold expression, and an acceleration control end threshold expression, are stored. Each of these threshold expressions is an expression obtained by adding an offset value to the brake discriminant. Formula 4 shows the brake discriminant.

  This brake discriminant is an expression showing the relationship between the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index KdB_c2 and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 at the start of the driver's braking operation. In Expression 4, a, b, and c are all constants. , Determined based on experiments. Moreover, a means a in Formula 3. a, b, and c are, for example, 0.2, −22.66, and 74.71, respectively.

Since the brake discriminant is an expression shown in Expression 4, the friction brake start threshold expression, the engine brake start threshold expression, and the acceleration control end threshold expression are all expressions shown in Expression 5. Δc in Equation 5 is an offset value. As this offset value, the first brake offset value Δc1 is used in the friction brake start threshold equation, and the second brake offset value Δc2 is used in the engine brake start threshold equation. In the threshold type, an acceleration offset value Δc3 is used.

  Due to the magnitude relationship of the offset values, the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c2 at the same estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 decreases in the order of the brake discriminant formula, the friction brake start threshold formula, the engine brake start threshold formula, and the acceleration control end threshold formula. The offset values Δc1, Δc2, and Δc3 are assumed to be lower than the offset values when the follow-up traveling control for the preceding vehicle is performed using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1, for example. Thus, when the follow-up running control for the tracking target vehicle is performed using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c2, the deceleration control is performed as compared with the case where the follow-up running control is performed for the preceding vehicle using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index KdB_c1. The closest inter-vehicle distance is complete.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the offset values Δc1, Δc2, and Δc3 are set so that the closest inter-vehicle distance is 0 or more. In other words, the friction brake start threshold value calculated from the friction brake start threshold value formula or the engine brake start threshold value formula or the engine brake start threshold value (threshold value for deceleration) is assumed to complete the deceleration control by the output of the requested deceleration described later. The closest inter-vehicle distance, which is the distance, is set to be at least 0 or more.

  Hereinafter, the content of the follow-up running control in the second follow-up running control process will be described in detail. The vehicle control ECU 1 sequentially calculates the current value of KdB_c2 during the follow-up running control. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the evaluation index calculation means in the claims. KdB_c2 is calculated from the evaluation index calculation formula shown in Formula 3. Therefore, to calculate the current value of KdB_c2, it is necessary to determine the relative speed Vr2, the speed Vp2 of the tracking target vehicle, and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2.

  The speed Vp2 of the tracking target vehicle is sequentially acquired from the tracking target vehicle via the wireless communication device 8. The relative speed Vr2 is sequentially calculated from the speed Vp2 of the vehicle to be followed and the speed Vo of the own vehicle sequentially acquired from the VSC_ECU2. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the following target vehicle speed acquisition means, own vehicle speed acquisition means, and relative speed calculation means.

  The estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 is determined based on the relative position of the vehicle to be followed relative to the vehicle identified from the position information of the vehicle to be followed and the position information of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the estimated inter-vehicle distance determining means. A specific example will be described below. First, the linear distance between the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle is calculated from the position information of the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle, and the progress of the subject vehicle is determined from the position information of the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle and the traveling direction of the subject vehicle. The lateral deviation amount of the vehicle to be followed with respect to the direction is calculated. Subsequently, by using the Pythagorean theorem, the distance between the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle when the subject vehicle exists in the traveling direction of the subject vehicle is calculated from the linear distance and the lateral deviation amount. That is, the distance between the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle is calculated when the subject vehicle is located on the same lane as the subject vehicle.

  This calculated distance is a distance between the installation position of the GPS receiver of the own vehicle and the installation position of the GPS receiver of the tracking target vehicle, and is longer than the actual inter-vehicle distance. Therefore, when the target vehicle is located on the same lane as the subject vehicle by subtracting a value that is considered to correspond to the difference between the calculated distance and the actual inter-vehicle distance (hereinafter, offset value) from the calculated distance. The estimated inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the vehicle to be followed at is determined. The offset value may be a default value set in advance in consideration of the installation position of the GPS receiver in the vehicle. Further, in the tracking target determination process, the inter-vehicle distance of the tracking target vehicle detected based on the signal of the radar 9 when the tracking target vehicle is at the position of the preceding vehicle is determined as the own vehicle position and the tracking target vehicle position at this time. A value subtracted from the distance between the subject vehicle and the vehicle to be followed calculated from the above may be stored and used as an offset value. The lateral deviation amount of the tracking target vehicle with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle may be estimated based on, for example, the lane where the host vehicle is located, the lane where the tracking target vehicle is positioned, the number of lanes, and the road width.

  The vehicle control ECU 1 sequentially calculates the current value of KdB_c2 by substituting the value determined as described above into Equation 3. The vehicle control ECU 1 sequentially calculates three threshold values, that is, a friction brake start threshold value, an engine brake start threshold value, and an acceleration control end threshold value during the follow-up running control. These are calculated from three threshold expressions stored in the memory, that is, a friction brake start threshold expression, an engine brake start threshold expression, an acceleration control end threshold expression, and a current value of the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2.

  The friction brake start threshold value and the engine brake start threshold value correspond to the deceleration threshold value in the claims, and the acceleration control end threshold value corresponds to the acceleration threshold value in the claims. As the first deceleration threshold value in the claims, either a friction brake start threshold value or an engine brake start threshold value may be used. For example, an engine brake start threshold value may be used. A common value may be used as the deceleration threshold and the acceleration threshold.

  During the following traveling control, the vehicle control ECU 1 compares the target inter-vehicle distance Dt2 with the current estimated inter-vehicle distance D2, and if the current estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 is shorter than the target inter-vehicle distance Dt2, the current value of KdB_c2 Regardless of what value is, the VSC_ECU 2 is instructed to operate the friction brake. However, when the accelerator operation is being performed by the driver, the VSC_ECU 2 may not be instructed to operate the friction brake.

  Further, when the accelerator operation is being performed by the driver, if the VSC_ECU 2 is not instructed to operate the friction brake, the tracking is performed when the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes less than 0 during the tracking traveling control. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which stops traveling control. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the canceling means in the claims.

  According to this, the following traveling control can be stopped when the host vehicle is accelerated by the driver's accelerator operation during the following traveling control and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes less than zero. Therefore, after the driver accelerates the host vehicle by the accelerator operation and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes less than 0, the follow-up running control is stopped and the deceleration due to the follow-up running control is prevented. For example, after the driver accelerates his / her vehicle by an accelerator operation to change the order of the vehicles with the vehicle to be followed, and the estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 becomes less than 0, the following traveling control is not continued. Therefore, it becomes possible to complete the change of the arrangement order without causing unnecessary deceleration by the follow-up running control.

On the other hand, when the current estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 is longer than the target inter-vehicle distance Dt2, the current value of KdB_c2 is compared with the friction brake start threshold, the engine brake start threshold, and the acceleration control end threshold. As a result of the comparison, there are the following results (1) to (4). That is, (1) when the current value of KdB_c2 is higher than the friction brake start threshold, (2) when the current value of KdB_c2 is between the friction brake start threshold and the engine brake start threshold, (3) the current value of KdB_c2 is In the case between the brake start threshold and the acceleration control end threshold, (4) the current value of KdB_c2 may be lower than the acceleration control end threshold. In the case of (1), the friction brake is operated, in the case of (2), the engine brake is operated, in the case of (3), the host vehicle is driven at a constant speed, and in the case of (4), the acceleration is accelerated. Take control. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to a deceleration target determination unit and an acceleration target determination unit. The required acceleration / deceleration GDp when the host vehicle is decelerated or accelerated is calculated by, for example, the following formula 6. A positive value is the required acceleration, and a negative value is the required deceleration.

  Vr_t2 in Equation 6 is a target relative speed obtained by substituting KdB_c2 at the current estimated inter-vehicle distance D2 obtained from the brake discriminant into Equation 3. T is a divisor for converting the difference between the current relative speed Vr2 of the vehicle to be followed and the target relative speed Vr_t2 into the required acceleration / deceleration GDp, and is set as appropriate.

  In step S8, a traveling road determination process is performed in the same manner as in step S3. And when it determines with being located on the road of a multiple lane (it is YES at step S8), it moves to step S9. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located on a road with multiple lanes (NO in step S8), the process returns to step S2 to repeat the flow.

  In step S9, the same lane determination process is performed as in step 5. And when it determines with being located on the same lane (it is YES at step S9), it moves to step S10. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located on the same lane (NO in step S9), the flow returns to step S7 to repeat the flow.

  In step S10, a lane change notification process is performed in the same manner as in step S4, and the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, as in step S6, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the lane change notification process was performed in step S10 (that is, time-out). If it is determined that a timeout has occurred (YES in step S11), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not a timeout (NO in step S11), the process returns to step S9 and the flow is repeated.

  According to the above structure, the preceding vehicle located in the same lane as the own vehicle can be selected as the following vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle and the vehicle to be followed are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, a notification is made to prompt the driver to be located in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the vehicle to be followed. It is possible to drive the vehicle by changing the lane to the same traveling direction and another lane as the following target vehicle. Furthermore, while the vehicle is traveling in a different lane from the vehicle to be tracked, the vehicle can follow the vehicle to be tracked, so the front end of the vehicle and the rear end of the vehicle to be tracked are arranged side by side. Even if it becomes a state, there is no possibility of contacting with the following object vehicle. Therefore, even when the follow-up running control is performed using information obtained by inter-vehicle communication, the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the follow-up target vehicle can be sufficiently reduced.

  Therefore, the time required for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the time required to start deceleration control using the information after obtaining information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, until the vehicle behavior actually changes after the deceleration control is started. It is not necessary to set a long target inter-vehicle distance in consideration of a delay time such as Further, even when the target inter-vehicle distance is reduced without considering the above-described delay time, there is no risk of contact with the tracking target vehicle when the tracking target vehicle is suddenly decelerated, and it is possible to follow the vehicle without the risk of a rear-end collision. Furthermore, it is possible to improve driving safety by preventing interruption of another vehicle to the platoon.

  Here, the effect in this invention is demonstrated concretely using FIGS. 4-6. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional technique. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in the case of following traveling across two lanes. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in the case of following traveling across three lanes. A to D in FIGS. 4 to 6 each indicate a vehicle.

According to the prior art, as shown in FIG. 4, it is only possible to follow the vehicle with respect to the preceding vehicle. Therefore, when performing follow-up using information obtained from vehicle-to-vehicle communication in addition to obstacle sensors, the time required for vehicle-to-vehicle communication and the deceleration control using information obtained from vehicle-to-vehicle communication are started. It is necessary to set the target inter-vehicle distance longer in consideration of the time delay such as the time required and the time required for starting the deceleration control to actually change the vehicle behavior. This is because the behavior of each succeeding vehicle is delayed by the time delay described above, so that the target inter-vehicle distance (D _AB , D _BC , D _{CD in} FIG. 4) is increased by taking into account the time delay described above. Otherwise, when the preceding vehicle suddenly decelerates, each subsequent vehicle will come into contact with the preceding vehicle.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, a vehicle traveling in another lane can be used as a vehicle to be tracked, so that each vehicle alternately follows the vehicle in two lanes as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to do. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, each vehicle may follow the vehicle across three lanes so that the vehicles before and after (A and B, B and C, and C and D) do not line up in the same lane. It becomes possible. As described above, even when the following traveling is performed using information obtained by inter-vehicle communication in addition to the obstacle sensor by performing the following traveling so that the vehicles before and after are not lined up in the same lane. The target inter-vehicle distance (D _AB , D _BC , D _CD in FIGS. 5 and 6) can be set sufficiently small without taking into account the time delay. This is because even if the behavior of each vehicle is delayed by the time delay described above, the vehicles before and after (A and B, B and C, C and D) are not lined up in the same lane. This is because there is no risk of contact.

  In the above-described embodiment, in the tracking target determination process, the preceding vehicle detected by the vehicle control ECU 1 based on the signal from the radar 9 (that is, the nearest preceding vehicle located on the same lane as the own vehicle) And although the structure which selects the vehicle which is receiving vehicle information by vehicle-to-vehicle communication as a tracking object vehicle was shown, it does not necessarily restrict to this. For example, it identifies the vehicle in front of the vehicle that is in the same traveling direction and in the same lane as the host vehicle and can communicate between vehicles (hereinafter simply referred to as the vehicle in front), and selects the vehicle in front as the vehicle to be tracked It is good also as a structure (henceforth modification 1) to do.

  Details are as follows. In the follow-up target determination process in the first modification, the nearest forward vehicle is specified from among the surrounding vehicles that are the transmission sources of the vehicle information specified from the vehicle information acquired via the wireless communication device 8. Therefore, the vehicle control ECU 1 corresponds to the vehicle specifying means in the claims. The determination as to whether or not the vehicle is the vehicle ahead is determined from the information on the lane where the tracking target vehicle is included in the received vehicle information and the information on the lane where the vehicle is located, which is acquired by the vehicle control ECU 1 of the vehicle. do it. In addition, for the identification of the nearest forward vehicle, based on the relative position of the surrounding vehicle obtained from the position information and traveling direction of the own vehicle and the positional information and traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle, is located ahead of the own vehicle, And what is necessary is just to set it as the structure performed by specifying the thing with the shortest distance.

  Furthermore, in the follow-up target determination process in the first modification, when the vehicle in the immediate vicinity is specified, a notification indicating that this vehicle can be selected as the follow-up target is given to the display device 11 or a sound output device (not shown). Make it. Then, when the driver operates the operation SW 10 during the notification or within a certain time after the notification and selects this vehicle as the tracking target, the vehicle is determined as the tracking target vehicle.

  Also in the case of the modified example 1, the vehicle control ECU 1 performs different tracking depending on whether the vehicle determined as the tracking target is located in the same lane as the own vehicle, or in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the own vehicle. Run control. Below, the process regarding the following driving | running | working control in vehicle control ECU1 in the modification 1 is demonstrated using the flow of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to follow-up traveling control in the vehicle control ECU 1 in the first modification. The flow in FIG. 7 is started when, for example, a tracking target determination process is performed. Further, the flow in FIG. 7 ends when the follow-up traveling control is ended, for example, when the control end switch of the cruise control switch is turned on.

  First, in step S31, the second follow-up running control process described above is performed, and the process proceeds to step S32. The second following traveling control process is continued until the first following traveling control is started or the following traveling control is ended by turning on the control end switch described above.

  In step S32, the traveling road determination process described above is performed. If it is determined that the vehicle is located on a road with multiple lanes (YES in step 32), the process proceeds to step S33. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located on a road with multiple lanes (NO in step 32), the process proceeds to step S36.

  In step S33, the same lane determination process described above is performed. And when it determines with being located on the same lane (it is YES at step S33), it moves to step S34. If it is determined that the vehicle is not on the same lane (NO in step S34), the flow returns to step S31 and the flow is repeated.

  In step S34, the above-described lane change notification process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S35. In step S35, as in step S6 described above, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the lane change notification process was performed in step S34 (that is, time-out). If it is determined that a timeout has occurred (YES in step S35), the process proceeds to step S36. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not a timeout (NO in step S35), the process returns to step S33 and the flow is repeated.

  In step S36, the second follow-up travel control process is interrupted, the first target inter-vehicle distance setting process described above is performed, and the process proceeds to step S37. In the first target inter-vehicle distance setting process, the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1 may be set for the follow target vehicle at the position of the preceding vehicle. In the first target inter-vehicle distance setting process, the above-described stable inter-vehicle distance may be used instead of the target inter-vehicle distance Dt1. In step S37, the first follow-up running control process described above is started, and the process proceeds to step S38. The first follow-up running control process is continued until the second follow-up running control is resumed or the follow-up running control is finished by turning on the control end switch described above.

  In step S38, the traveling road determination process described above is performed. If it is determined that the vehicle is located on a road with multiple lanes (YES in step 38), the process proceeds to step S39. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located on a road with multiple lanes (NO in step 38), the flow returns to step S37 to repeat the flow.

  In step S39, the same lane determination process described above is performed. And when it determines with being located on the same lane (it is YES at step S39), it moves to step S37. If it is determined that the vehicle is not on the same lane (NO in step S34), the flow returns to step S31 and the flow is repeated.

  Note that the above-described embodiment and Modification 1 may be combined. As a specific example, a configuration may be adopted in which after the preceding vehicle is first selected as the follow-up target vehicle, the vehicle immediately ahead can be newly selected as the follow-up target vehicle while traveling or stopped.

  In the above-described embodiment, a configuration is shown in which one nearest front vehicle is identified and the identified nearest front vehicle is selected as a follow-up target vehicle. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, as a configuration in which a plurality of front vehicles (hereinafter simply referred to as front vehicles) that can communicate with each other in the same traveling direction and in the same lane as the host vehicle are specified, and a tracking target vehicle is selected from the plurality of specified front vehicles. Also good. In this case, for example, among the forward vehicles located in the same traveling direction and in the separate lane as the own vehicle, the nearest forward vehicle is specified for each separate lane. Then, the display device 11 is displayed to indicate that the specified plurality of forward vehicles can be selected as the tracking target. Then, when the driver operates the operation SW 10 during the display and selects one vehicle among the plurality of forward vehicles as the tracking target, the vehicle may be determined as the tracking target vehicle.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the follow-up traveling control is performed using the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the present invention may be applied to follow-up traveling control that does not use the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index. In the configuration in which the follow-up running control without using the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index is performed, the target inter-vehicle distance is less than 0 (-D _AB , -D _BC , -D _{CD in} FIG. 8) as shown in FIG. It is good also as a structure set to. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which the target inter-vehicle distance is set to less than 0 and the follow-up traveling is performed across two lanes. According to this, it is possible to further prevent the interruption of another vehicle to the platoon and improve the driving safety.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the technical means disclosed in different embodiments can be appropriately combined. Such embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 vehicle control ECU (following travel control device, preceding vehicle discrimination means, selection means, notification means, evaluation index calculation means, tracking target vehicle speed acquisition means, own vehicle speed acquisition means, relative speed calculation means, estimated inter-vehicle distance determination means, 2 VSC_ECU, 3 rudder angle sensor, 4 G sensor, 5 yaw rate sensor, 6 ENG_ECU, 7 navigation ECU, 8 wireless communication device, 9 radar, 10 Operation SW, 11 Display device, 71 Position detector, 72 Map data input device, 100 Following travel control system

Claims (8)

Mounted on the vehicle,
While obtaining information on nearby vehicles through inter-vehicle communication,
A follow-up running control device that performs follow-up running control on the follow-up target vehicle using information acquired by inter-vehicle communication from a follow-up target vehicle that is a vehicle to be followed by the own vehicle,
When the own vehicle and the following target vehicle are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, the same following target vehicle with respect to the following target vehicle located in the same traveling direction as the own vehicle and in a different lane A follow-up running control device that performs follow-up running control while traveling in a traveling direction and in another lane. In claim 1,
Vehicle identification that identifies vehicles ahead that are capable of vehicle-to-vehicle communication in the same traveling direction and in different lanes when the host vehicle and the following target vehicle are located on a road with multiple lanes in the same traveling direction Means,
Selecting means for selecting a vehicle to be followed from the vehicle specified by the vehicle specifying means according to a user input operation;
A follow-up travel control device that performs the follow-up travel control on a follow-up target vehicle selected by the selection means. In claim 2,
When the vehicle and the vehicle to be tracked are located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, the vehicle specifying means is capable of performing inter-vehicle communication in the same traveling direction as that of the own vehicle and in a different lane. Identify the vehicle ahead,
The follow-up travel control device, wherein the selecting means selects a vehicle specified by the vehicle specifying means as a follow-up target vehicle according to a user input operation. In claim 1,
Preceding vehicle discriminating means for discriminating a preceding vehicle that is a vehicle in front of the vehicle that is located in the same lane as the own vehicle, capable of inter-vehicle communication;
In accordance with a user input operation, a selection unit that selects a vehicle that is determined to be the preceding vehicle by the preceding vehicle determination unit as a follow-up target vehicle;
An informing means for informing the user,
While performing follow-up running control for the following target vehicle selected by the selection means,
When the host vehicle is located on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction, the notification means performs notification for urging the vehicle to be positioned in the same traveling direction and a different lane as the following target vehicle. Follow-up running control device. In any one of Claims 1-4,
Estimated inter-vehicle distance determining means for determining an estimated inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the follow-up target vehicle when the follow-up target vehicle is located on the same lane as the own vehicle;
Own vehicle speed acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the speed of the own vehicle;
Tracking target vehicle speed acquisition means for sequentially acquiring information of the speed of the tracking target vehicle from the tracking target vehicle by inter-vehicle communication;
A relative speed calculating means for sequentially calculating a relative speed with respect to the following vehicle from the speed of the own vehicle acquired by the own vehicle speed acquiring means and the speed of the following vehicle to be acquired acquired by the following vehicle speed acquiring means;
An index representing the approaching / separating state with respect to the tracking target vehicle in consideration of the speed of the tracking target vehicle, and increases as the relative speed approaching the tracking target vehicle increases, and the estimated distance between the tracking target vehicle An evaluation index calculating means for calculating a corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index that is an index that increases as the distance becomes shorter and an increase gradient with respect to a change in which the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes shorter becomes steeper as the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes shorter;
Deceleration target determination means for determining whether or not the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index calculated by the evaluation index calculation means is a value exceeding a preset deceleration threshold;
Acceleration target determination means for determining whether or not the corrected approaching / separating state evaluation index calculated by the evaluation index calculation means is a value lower than a preset acceleration threshold;
When the deceleration target determination means determines that the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index is greater than the deceleration threshold, the target to be tracked is a relative speed target value determined from the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index and the estimated inter-vehicle distance. While outputting the requested deceleration to match the actual relative speed with the car,
When the acceleration target determination means determines that the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index is a value lower than the acceleration threshold, the target to follow the relative speed target value determined from the corrected approach / separation state evaluation index and the estimated inter-vehicle distance A follow-up travel control device that performs the follow-up travel control on the follow-up target vehicle by outputting a required acceleration for matching an actual relative speed with a vehicle. In claim 5,
The deceleration threshold is set such that the closest inter-vehicle distance, which is an inter-vehicle distance assumed to complete deceleration control by the output of the required deceleration, is at least 0 or more. . In claim 6,
A follow-up travel control device comprising: a stop unit that stops the follow-up travel control when the estimated inter-vehicle distance becomes less than 0 during the follow-up travel control.   A follow-up travel control system comprising the follow-up travel control device according to claim 1 mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles.

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